PIGEON FORGE – Wilderness Wildlife Week, a Top 20 Event in the Southeast according to the Southeast Tourism Society, tallied a cumulative attendance of more than 25,300 in almost 300 classes, presentations, musical programs, hikes and excursions.

The week included 47 hikes, which attracted 1,006 hikers. The hikers chalked up 4,656 miles on trails in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The event, which took place from Jan. 10 to 17, was a salute to the national park and related outdoor and environmental topics. This was the 19th year the City of Pigeon Forge presented Wilderness Wildlife Week.

”Wilderness Wildlife Week was the first big public event on the official calendar of Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s 75th anniversary, and it was a real hit,” said Leon Downey, executive director of the Pigeon Forge Department of Tourism.

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